Over the course of the next two weeks, College Basketball Talk will be detailing what some of the country’s best, most intriguing, and thoroughly enigmatic teams need. It’s the spirit of the holidays. We’re in a giving mood.

Gotta have it list-topper: Perimeter shooting must improve
The Golden Eagles have some solid pieces, whether it’s a Vander Blue, Trent Lockett or Jamil Wilson. But with their balance (two players averaging double figures; five averaging at least 7.7 ppg) has come the fact that Marquette has struggled from beyond the arc. On the season the Golden Eagles are shooting 31.0% from distance, a number that ranks 14th out of 15 teams in the Big East. Wilson (12-of-23) has been their most accurate weapon in this regard, but with Blue and Lockett making less than 35% of their attempts Buzz Williams will need his players to get better as they approach Big East play. Marquette scores 62.3% of their points on two-pointers according to statsheet.com, and with their shooting woes look for opponents to devise defensive game plans that focus on limiting their valuable paint touches. If Marquette can make opponents pay they’ll be better for it.

Stocking stuffer: Davante Gardner continues to perform inside
Gardner’s been very good for the Golden Eagles this season, as he’s second on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg) and grabbing a team-high 5.4 rebounds per game. Gardner, who is in much better physical condition, ranks in the top ten in the Big East in both field goal (59.6%) and free throw (81.0%) percentage and has been a highly valuable reserve for Marquette. If the senior continues on this path the Golden Eagles will have a valuable piece at their disposal when it come sto alleviating some of the scoring responsibilities for their perimeter players.

Planning on re-gifting: Todd Mayo’s academic ineligibility
With Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom moving on to the NBA, the sophomore from West Virginia was looked upon as one of the key figures for Marquette in 2012-13. That clearly didn’t happen, as Mayo was academically ineligible for the fall semester. The question now is how quickly, if at all, can Mayo get back into the swing of things and become another player for Marquette to call on. Early last season Mayo enjoyed a stretch of five straight games in double figures, including a career-best 22 points in a win over Northern Colorado, so he surely has the potential to help Marquette offensively. But did the missed time stunt his on-court growth?